Explosionade dev says XBLM is "broken"

The creator of indie game Explosionade has called on Microsoft to update its "stuck" Xbox Live Indie Games Top Downloads list.

Developer Mommy's Best Games has refused to release the side-scrolling shooter – which it says is finished - until the "broken" service is fixed.

"Great news - Explosionade is finished and ready for you to play!" wrote studio head and former Insomniac designer Nathan Fouts on his website.

"The bad news - I'm not going to release it till the Xbox Marketplace is less broken. Sorry, but I want the best launch possible, and when the Top Downloads list isn't up to date, it's a crappy time to release a game to Xbox Live Indie Games."

Fouts' complaint centres around the Indie Games section of the Xbox 360 dashboard. The New Arrivals section shows the 20 most recent XBL Indie Games uploaded to the service. Top Downloads is supposed to show the 20 games currently downloaded the most.

Fouts reckons the Top Downloads list is "stuck".

"If we released Explosionade today, but the Top Downloads list is not updating properly we will miss a huge chance for more sales," he said.

"We love making games as a full time business. If we have a bad launch for Explosionade, it will greatly hurt our potential to carry on.

Fouts added: "Sales data has been spotty since 28th September, which means the Top Downloads list has been spotty in terms of reflecting gamers interests. In months past, the Top Downloads list has stayed stuck for days, sometimes over a week.

"I really want to release Explosionade, as I publicly announced we could release by 4th October. It was ready in time for review earlier this weekend, but I've been waiting till Top Downloads is functioning properly."